One community just told another to back off from their oil field. The Abigborodo group restated its ownership of the PPL 220 site. They rejected recent claims from the Sapele Okpe community as misleading. Committee chairman Misan Ukubeyinje issued a detailed position paper. He called the rival assertions legally weak and historically wrong.
Ukubeyinje cited colonial records from the National Archives. These documents support Abigborodo's claim to Ugbekoko and Uton Iyatsere. The papers include old judicial proceedings and British investigations. Colonial authorities upheld the Abigborodo leaders' rights to these areas historically.
He stated that Itsekiri communities settled the land long before the Okpe migration. Abigborodo and other villages were aboriginal settlements in Sapele. The Okpe people moved from Orerokpe in the early twentieth century. Colonial reports document this migration between 1900 and 1907. Sapele was already a British administrative center by 1891.
A 1940 colonial court judgment favored Abigborodo farmers accused of trespass. Protest letters from Warri Kingdom leaders in the 1930s were also investigated. Ukubeyinje said these colonial resolutions supported his community's ownership.
He dismissed arguments about local government boundaries. Ancestral land ownership predates modern political divisions. A 2021 judicial panel recognized the areas as Itsekiri communities. It affirmed Uton Iyatsere as an Itsekiri settlement.
Ukubeyinje raised an alarm over a reported closed-door meeting. He mentioned the Delta State oil commissioner and a company called Navante Exploration. Involvement with the Sapele Okpe group suggests institutional bias. He questioned any official's power to rename a gazetted oil field.
Extensive research preceded the naming of PPL 220. No individual agency holds legal authority to alter its established name. The oil field sits entirely on Abigborodo land, according to the paper. Directly impacted people will be Abigborodo citizens of Itsekiri origin. The Sapele Okpe claim constitutes trespass in their view.
The community called on multiple authorities to disregard the rival claims. They urged the environment minister and upstream regulator to uphold their position. The Alema of the Warri Kingdom's stance on ownership should be recognized. They want the petroleum resources minister and the state government to side with them.
Ukubeyinje cited colonial records from the National Archives. These documents support Abigborodo's claim to Ugbekoko and Uton Iyatsere. The papers include old judicial proceedings and British investigations. Colonial authorities upheld the Abigborodo leaders' rights to these areas historically.
He stated that Itsekiri communities settled the land long before the Okpe migration. Abigborodo and other villages were aboriginal settlements in Sapele. The Okpe people moved from Orerokpe in the early twentieth century. Colonial reports document this migration between 1900 and 1907. Sapele was already a British administrative center by 1891.
A 1940 colonial court judgment favored Abigborodo farmers accused of trespass. Protest letters from Warri Kingdom leaders in the 1930s were also investigated. Ukubeyinje said these colonial resolutions supported his community's ownership.
He dismissed arguments about local government boundaries. Ancestral land ownership predates modern political divisions. A 2021 judicial panel recognized the areas as Itsekiri communities. It affirmed Uton Iyatsere as an Itsekiri settlement.
Ukubeyinje raised an alarm over a reported closed-door meeting. He mentioned the Delta State oil commissioner and a company called Navante Exploration. Involvement with the Sapele Okpe group suggests institutional bias. He questioned any official's power to rename a gazetted oil field.
Extensive research preceded the naming of PPL 220. No individual agency holds legal authority to alter its established name. The oil field sits entirely on Abigborodo land, according to the paper. Directly impacted people will be Abigborodo citizens of Itsekiri origin. The Sapele Okpe claim constitutes trespass in their view.
The community called on multiple authorities to disregard the rival claims. They urged the environment minister and upstream regulator to uphold their position. The Alema of the Warri Kingdom's stance on ownership should be recognized. They want the petroleum resources minister and the state government to side with them.
